Piccolo Ristorante C'era una volta" — Restaurant in Pisa

My wife and I truly enjoyed our leisurely lunch at Restaurant Picolo C’era Una Volta, owned and operated by Rudy (greeting customers, waiting tables) and his bride Rimona (in the kitchen). As we entered the restaurant Rudy’s first question was “Are you in a hurry?”, implying that if we are then we are in the wrong place. We were not in a hurry and looking forward to a remarkable dining experience. The little restaurant was busy but so was Rudy as he worked the tables taking orders, delivering dishes prepared by Rimona, and seeing to every customer’s needs. He also prepared the bills and processed payments, refusing to accept additional tips. His only desire is to receive honest reviews from his customers. A true professional who sincerely loves what he does. The food was simply amazing, easily the top culinary experience of our Italian vacation. Everything was cooked to perfection with excellent timing and sequencing as stated in the menu notes. One dish served at a time, no second dishes will be stacked on your table. Take your time, enjoy every part of your meal, which we did for almost three enjoyable hours savoring each dish. Three hours may seem like a lot to some, but we never felt neglected, even as busy as the restaurant was today. Our dishes: anchovies with red onion, spices and olive oil; tagliolini pasta with clams and fresh graded dried fish roe; grilled sea bream; fried shrimp and squid; white wine and an espresso finish. Restaurant Picolo C’era Una Volta as well as Rudy and Rimona’s excellent reviews are...

The food was fantastic! And the vibe of the restaurant was lovely, the owner was very friendly. He couldn’t speak English and we couldn’t speak Italian, so he brought a mini translator for us to communicate! And the customers in the restaurant also helped us to order food, which was really welcoming and heartwarming, thank you very much!

But they had an English menu so it wasn’t hard to read the menu at all. Everyone at the restaurant was very chill and enjoying life, which was very nice.

Before ordering, he mentioned to us that the restaurant is handled only by him and his wife, so we weren’t able to order so many things, but rather stick to a menu that we both like. Which was very understandable, you gotta follow the rules of the place that you decide to eat.

We were a bit worried after seeing so many reviews of how slow their service is, but it was actually quite quick! We had a flight to catch afterwards, but we ordered after 15min of sitting and the food was ready after 20min that we ordered, which is very quick considering that the restaurant is tiny but crowded! We saw the owner running everywhere!

We had to skip starter and dessert as we were in a bit of rush (which I regret a lot, I wish I visited earlier and try other food in restaurant and spend more time in, the vibe was really good) but he was completely understanding!

I am definitely coming back, and next time I will make sure to stay longer and enjoy every dish they have! The sea urchin pasta looks absolutely stunning, would love to try...

What Restaurants Should Be

Found the restaurant on Google when at Pisa and looking for a nearby seaside restaurant to escape the crowds and find seafood and a salad after many nights of pasta.

Small restaurant, 15 tables or so, on the corner of commercial Main Street of a beach town. Run by a husband and wife.

Sit down. Show begins. Husband runs the dining room as the server. Super expressive Italian, filled with energy, humor, life and joy. Doesn’t speak a word of English (our issue obviously, not his) but somehow through sheer force of his personally and expressiveness and an assist from some helpful folks at nearby tables we are able to process his recommendations, order the tagliolini with aglione, clams and shrimp - with a tomato and onion salad and a good bottle of Pinot Grigio.

The food and wine were both excellent and throughout the meal the owner would come around and theatrically show us dishes he was delivering including some great looking desserts (which we unfortunately did not order) while joking around with everyone. We had a great time for the entire meal, it’s a great find.

On the way out the door he and my husband found a joke together (his wife, who runs the kitchen, being the talented one) and he (not being big) called my husband (who is) his new bodyguard, facilitated by way of some helpful translation by one of the other customers.

We would go all the time, it was that great an experience. Unfortunately we live in another continent.

10/10,...